Is It Safe To Smoke Your Drink?

The trendiest cocktails don't involve a single sip of alcohol. But the party could end in the ER.

By
Marissa Gainsburg

Feb 17, 2014

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Jeffrey Westbrook/Studio D

If you walked into Chicago's Red Kiva lounge one night last year, you probably would have thought you had stepped into a Hookah bar by mistake.

Flocks of 20- and 30somethings crowded around tables showcasing a small, sleek device — the Vaportini — designed for inhaling not flavored tobacco but liquor. While one group took turns breathing in vapors of bourbon, others inhaled vodka, gin, and the hard-core party favorite, absinthe.

The allure? You get drunker faster and on less booze. "When you inhale a substance, it reaches the brain exponentially faster and at a much higher concentration," says Scott Teitelbaum, MD, division chief of addiction medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine. By bypassing your stomach, you also end up with no nausea and "little to no calories," says Dr. Teitelbaum.

One YouTube video of a guy inhaling booze — using a bike pump and soda bottle — has more than 3.5 million views. And half of Vaportini's sales are to women, who traditionally don't spend as much as men on alcohol or smoking products. "It seemed like a healthier option. I didn't feel like I was confusing my body with a sudden sugar rush," says Elizabeth Hunter, a 26-year-old photographer who has tried the trend.

But smoking alcohol isn't healthier — it carries serious health risks. You absorb alcohol in 8 to 20 seconds when you're inhaling it versus 20 minutes when you're drinking it. And unlike with a drink, you can't keep track of how much you're having. If you go overboard, there's no going back. You can't throw up vapor or have your stomach pumped. "Anytime blood-alcohol levels skyrocket quickly, you risk respiratory arrest, a coma, even death," Dr. Teitelbaum says.

Even a few hits might hook you. "The faster something reaches the brain, the more addictive it can be," says Dr. Teitelbaum. And when you abuse alcohol — whether you are drinking it or smoking it — you up your risk for liver problems, reduced fertility, and cancer. You don't set yourself up for making great decisions either.